An EPL Christmas Carol

The EPL with all its intrigue and suspense has fans begging for more, and during the Christmas period it’s as if the powers that be want to test the theory of whether “there is such a thing as too much of a good thing”.

The English Premier League is one of the few leagues in the world that do not go on any sort of break during the Christmas holiday period. In fact during the festive season a team will play up to 4 games in a space of 12 days.

A season can go up in flames during this period and the big teams use their main squads to take advantage of this flurry of games. At this point the Red Devils go into this period with a 6-point lead and a history behind them. Their wise and cunning leader, Sir Alex Ferguson, has over the years perfected his run for the championship by ensuring his team will do well during the frenetic schedule. The question this season is: will his fragile defense withstand the onslaught and will his ageing squad have enough cover to build an even bigger gap at the top before the transfer window opens in January and the rivals use money to cure their short comings?

The noisy neighbors are in second place with 6 points of the pace having been handed their first defeat of the season by Scumester United. The Citizens have a big enough squad to cope with the challenges of the hectic Christmas schedule, and hopefully their defeat will spur them on to utilize their resources fully and make a strong bid for the title. Having been knocked out of the Champions League they can now focus on retaining the league and justify their backer’s more than generous support.

But as we go to Christmas all eyes have been on Stamford Bridge. The sacking of Roberto Di Matteo at such a crucial time and the appointment of Rafa Benitez reminds us history students of another Russian Revolution. Ambromovich and his fans are, not for the first time, at loggerheads, with the owner pulling rank much to the fans’ chagrin. Christmas will test Chelsea and either forge them into a strong contender or push them further into chaos rivaling S^t Peters square in the early 20^th century. I for one will be watching the plot unfold with interest, wishing Benitez and Torres more luck than Trotsky and Co.

The rest of the league is divided into teams fighting for the one Champions League spot left and those fighting to avoid relegation. Arsenal seem to lack ambition and depth; the holiday could send them into the chaos that had fans baying for Arsene Wenger’s blood last season. Liverpool are finally on the 1^st page of the log and if they can hold it together up until January to buy a striker that 4^th Champions League spot is within reach, and dare I say it a late charge at the leaders on the final stretch will have the faithful shouting “YNWA”. Tottenham and Everton are in the mix trying to mess up everyone’s plans but something tells me they lack the depth to keep up and, come February, AVB’s days in the EPL will come to an abrupt end and Fellani will do a Delilah or at least a good barber and the blue side of Liverpool will have to assume their usual position of “we’re glad we made it” and “we wish we were red”.

At the bottom QPR’s flirtation with the big time looks like as with all such relationships it is about to come to a sad and painful end. In a bid to rescue themselves they have engaged the services of Harry Houdini Redknapp. Can someone remind me how the great Houdini died by the way?

So as I wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year, I will hog the remote and feast on the world’s greatest League, wondering if Father Christmas supports Manchester United, Arsenal or Liverpool or is it just that he loves Coca-Cola?